Parapanteles eros Gupta

Gupta, Ankita, Churi, Paresh V., Sengupta, Ashok & Mhatre, Sarang, 2014, Lycaenidae parasitoids from peninsular India with description of four new species of microgastrine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) along with new insights on host relationships, Zootaxa 3827 (4), pp. 439-470 : 440-443

Parapanteles eros Gupta n. sp.

Plates. I, II & XXI. Figs 1−10, 77.

Female. Holotype (Fig. 3). Body length = 3.43 mm.

Diagnosis. Propodeum areola 1.15× longer than wide; anterior diagonal carinae of propodeum shallowly merging anterior margin of propodeum. Hind tibia (0.83) 4.37× longer than exserted part of ovipositor (0.19). First metasomal tergal plate longer than wide, 3/4th apical with punctations and rugosity; second tergum wider than long; second tergum median length 0.72× of third tergum. Ovipositor sheaths curved and hairy in apical half; gently decurved, projecting beyond apex of gaster.

Body colour. Black. Head black. Ocelli brown, antenna (including scape, pedicel) black, eyes dark brownish black with pale yellow palps. Fore leg with coxa and trochanter black, femur dark yellow brown in basal half, apically yellow, remaining leg yellow except brown apex of apical tarsus; mid leg and trochanter black, basal 3/4th of femur dark yellow brown, apical 1/4th paler, basal half of tibia yellow, apical dark brown, tarsus brown; hind leg dark brown to black except extreme apex of femur and basal 1/4th of tibia, tibial spurs testaceous, tarsus dark brown. Mesosoma black. Wings hyaline, veins C+SC+R and metacarpus (R1) dark brown; pterostigma brown (except extreme pale apex), vein (RS+M)a, m-cu, 1M testaceous; veins r, 2RS light brown and 2M dark brown; hind wing veins translucent. Tegula black.

Head. (Fig. 6). Eyes densely setose. Face rough with shallow closely placed punctations; vertex rough and dull with sparse pilosity; clypeus densely setose. Head width/height = 0.95/ 0.75 mm; compound eye height = 0.52 mm; inter tentorial pit distance = 0.21 mm; width of face at dorsal clypeal edge = 0.46 mm; clypeus width = 0.05 mm; vertex width = 0.63 mm; length of first flagellomere = 0.24 mm; width of first flagellomere = 0.10 mm; length of second flagellomere = 0.21 mm; width of second flagellomere = 0.11 mm; length of third flagellomere = 0.21 mm; width of third flagellomere = 0.10 mm; terminal flagellomere length = 0.12 mm; terminal flagellomere width = 0.06 mm; penultimate flagellomere length = 0.10 mm; penultimate flagellomere width = 0.07 mm; terminal flagellomere length/width = 2.0; malar space height/basal width of mandible = 0.94; ocello-ocular distance = 0.17 mm; inter-ocellar distance = 0.17 mm; face width at upper edge of posterior ocelli = 0.68 mm.

Mesosoma (Figs 4 & 5). Mesosoma median length = 1.43 mm; mesosoma length/width (1.01) = 1.41. Mesonotum with coarse punctate sculpture that fades near the scutellar groove; scuto-scutellar groove distinctly crenulate with 10 deep costulae; pilosity dense with longer setae above the scuto-scutellar groove; scutellum with shallow and distantly placed punctations, with evenly placed white long setae, setae dense on the lateral edges; scutellum laterally with costulate sculpture which become narrower and elongated towards posterior edge; posterior band of scutellum polished; metanotum subrectangular. Mesopleuron dull rugose with dense pilosity in 3/ 4th diagonal posterior half (anterior half smooth shiny and devoid of setae). Metapleuron with shallow punctures in the anterior most region and in the diagonal posterior region, anterior pit smooth, shiny and deep. Hind coxa laterally dull with shallow punctures and long setae.

Propodeum with clearly defined wide, strong and shiny areola (areola devoid of setae); propodeum rugose with dense pilosity in basal half excluding areola. Areola 1.15× longer than wide; anterior diagonal carinae of propodeum shallowly merging anterior margin of propodeum (evident in KOH treated samples, Fig. 5); areola open near the anterior edge; costulae complete and prominent, anterior diagonal carinae sloping down behind spiracles; spiracles large and oval, a diagonal carina arising from each spiracle which runs parallel to a distance equal to half length of carina running behind the spiracle.

Wings (Fig. 7). Pterostigma length (0.40)/height (0.28) = 1.42. 1RS length = 0.07 mm; 1r = 0.26; 2Rs = 0.17; 1CUa length (0.22)/1CUb length (0.27) = 0.81; RS+Ma length = 0.55 mm; M+CU length = 1.08 mm; Hind wing: 1M length = 0.37 mm; 1M length (0.48)/M+CU length (0.42) = 1.14; length r-m (0.19)/length cu-a (0.20) = 0.95; 1A length = 0.31 mm.

Metasoma (Fig. 8 & 9). Metasoma median length = 1.5 mm (including exserted ovipositor = 0.19 mm); first tergum length = 0.55 mm; first tergal plate 1.14× longer than wide; apical 3/4th rugose with punctations (separated more than individual diameter); apical 1/4th comparatively smooth; widest pre-apically. Second and subsequent tergites with fine granulations. Second tergum wider than long, second tergum median length 0.72× of third tergum. First tergum basal width = 0.48 mm; first tergum apical width = 0.36 mm; first tergum median width = 0.46 mm; first tergum length /distal width = 1.52; second tergum basal width = 0.55 mm; second tergum median length = 0.13 mm; second tergum apical width = 0.51 mm; third tergum median length = 0.18 mm; third tergum basal width = 0.65 mm.

Ovipositor sheaths projecting beyond the apex of gaster (Fig. 77). Exserted part of ovipositor = 0.19 mm. Ovipositor sheaths long and slender in lateral view, hairy in apical half; gently decurved, projecting beyond apex of gaster.

Hind tibia (0.83) 4.36× longer than exserted part of ovipositor (0.19).

Male (Fig. 3A). Sexually dimorphic in having fore wing pterostigma pale in colour, other characters similar.

Host. Chilades pandava (Horsfield) ( Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae ) (Figs 1 & 2) on the host plant Cycas revoluta Thunb. (Cycadaceae) .

Type material. Holotype, one female on card, INDIA, Karnataka, NBAII campus, 6.vii.13, coll. Ankita Gupta, ex. larvae of Chilades pandava Horsfield ( Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae ) on Cycas revoluta Thunb. (Cycadaceae) . Paratypes, two females and two males on card, with same data as holotype.

Repository. All types & specimens deposited in NBAII, Bangalore, India. Code. NBAII /Bra/Mic/Para/ eros / 060613 -A(Holotype), NBAII /Bra/Mic/Para/ eros / 060613 -B (Paratype).

Etymology. This species is named after the host Chilades pandava which is commonly known as ‘Plains cupid’; ‘ eros ’ is the Greek counterpart of ‘cupid’.

PLATE I. Parapanteles eros n. sp. Figs 1−5. 1—Parasitized caterpillars of Chilades pandava (Horsfield) . 2—Solitary cocoon of P. eros n. sp. with caterpillar. 3—Dorsal view, female. 3A—Habitus, male. 4— Mesosoma , female. 5— Mesosoma (KOH treated), female.

PLATE II. Parapanteles eros n. sp. Figs 6−10. 6—Head in frontal view (KOH treated), female. 7—Wings, female. 8—Propodeum with metasoma, female. 9—Metasoma (KOH treated), female. 10—Ovipositor ((KOH treated).